Breathless
by WhenDayMeetsDark
Summary: "And it was only after my father taught me to break out of my shell that I both noticed and fell in love with you." Prim/Rory. For the THGSSFEx 2010. Merry Christmas Clara


**Hey, so this is a RoryxPrim one-shot for Claratrix LeChathem for the Secret Santa Exchange. But there are a few things I should probably explain. For instance, this is about 2 years after Katniss won her first Hunger Games, so Prim is fourteen, Katniss never went into the Quarter Quell, and there was never a second rebellion. I don't particularly think it's my best work but I've had writers block for a while so it's the best i've been able to do. Oh yes and I'm so sorry, I know you didn't want it to involve Katniss, but I couldn't helpo but mention her seeing as it's Prims POV. So sorry. Hope you like it :)**

I wish I would learn to keep my mouth shut.

About a week ago I'd let it slip to my best friend Rory Hawthorne that I had been wanted to go into the forest, not to catch animals only to gather berries or something, for a few months now, and now we were standing outside the fence separating District 12 and the forest, listening for the telltale buzz Katniss told me about that warned us if it was live or not. It was too soon to tell whether or not it was lucky that it was silent. Rory slid through before me, to show me how it was done, not that I needed to be shown how to slide under a fence. I appreciated the effort, though. I stood there nervously for a few moments, wondering if the fence might go live while I was sliding under. I decided there was no going back now, seeing as I would look like a total hypocrite, saying I wanted to go into the woods, and then chickening out at the last second. I closed my eyes and quickly slid under, and I was relieved to come out the other end completely unscathed, the fence still uncharged. I looked around silently in wonder that I had finally found the courage to go into the woods, as Katniss had been doing for years. I looked over at Rory and he smiled and motioned for me to follow him. I suddenly realized we were still in plain sight and followed him through the woods.

"Stay to the path or we might get lost," Rory warned me. I nodded silently, still looking around curiously. The early December snow crunched beneath my boots with every step I took, tiny flakes sticking to my hair and clothes. From time to time I saw Rory looking at me; surly wondering if this was my first time in the woods. It wasn't, but I will admit that I sure acted like it. Then, I'd never been far from the fence because I was always so scared before. After about five or so minutes of walking in silence, we passed a log that was a few feet from the path. I saw it had only one slightly hollow branch sticking out of it and I stopped.

"What is it?" Rory asked me. I didn't reply at first, only walked over to the log. I saw him make a move to stop me, and then he thought better of it, I guess. I crouched down to examine the log closely. As I'd hoped, I saw a tiny little P. E. embedded in the branch of the wood.

"I wonder..." I mused, walking over to the hollow end of the log. I reached into it, hoping my arms were long enough to reach what I hoped was there. Sure enough my hands soon found a small bow perfect for someone my size. I turned to Rory and said, "My father made Katniss a lot of bows, but only one for me. He always said he'd make more for me when I was older and could go into the woods, but he died before he could. Katniss told me he hid it in a hollow log with only one slightly hollow branch near the path, but not strictly on it, and marked it with a tiny P.E. on the branch that poked out of it." I looked at the bow for a moment before looking back at Rory. "I guess I just found it."

Of course I knew I could never use it, not to harm anyone or anything at least, but it was the sentimental value of it that made me love it form the first moment I laid eyes on it. Rory looked at the sadness on my face and seemed to understand that though I was happy for something my father had made, it was also a sad reminder that he was gone forever.

"There's something I wanted to show you," Rory said. "Gale showed it to me a little while ago and I think it should cheer you up a bit."

I looked up from the bow and smiled at him. "Sure, let's go." I replied.

We walked through the woods talking about mundane non-important things as I gripped the bow, as if I would die if I lost the only reminder I had that my father ever truly existed, and I let him lead me wherever we were going. After about an hour walk, we reached a clearing with a small lake, more of a large pond really, that had a thin layer of ice over it. There was a small rundown house, and I could see bumps in the earth where the foundation of more houses had once been, but other than that there was no visible proof that anyone had ever been here before us. The snow lay undisturbed, like a soft white blanket coating everything around us. I wanted to get a closer look at the lake but it felt like such a shame to disturb the beauty of the place.

"It's amazing..." I whispered breathlessly. I turned to Rory. "Did Gale tell you how he found it? I mean, was it by accident or did someone tell him about it?"

"Actually," Rory responded, "Katniss showed it to him, and your father showed it to her. He said that it was where your father taught Katniss to swim." He looked at me quietly. "He never brought you here?"

"I think...he might have. I mean, I know how to swim and Katniss once told me that our father had taught us together. But he taught Katniss when she was seven, so I must have been only around three...so I don't really remember it. It's more of a faint essence of a memory." I looked at him cautiously, preparing to tell him something I'd never told anyone before. "That's all I remember of my father, too. Just the essence of his memory. A smile, a laugh, a lullaby he sung to me when I had trouble sleeping...that's all that's left of him to me. That, and this bow."

Rory looked over at me and slowly moved to put his arm around me. I let him and moved a little closer. He began to whisper something quiet to me. I could barely make out what he said, but I know it was something along these lines. "I only have one memory of my father and nothing else, not an essence or a smile. He was trying to make a fire out of slightly wet wood he'd gathered as I watched him silently from a corner. T was only a week before he died, and back then I was scared of everything. Even my own father. He noticed me watching him after about 45 minutes, and smiled and waved me over. Cautiously I walked slowly over to him. He asked me if I could help him, and I was confused because I was so young and neither he nor Gale had been able to do it, even though both of them had tried for hours on end. The house was freezing cold, and he suggested that maybe even though neither of us could do it alone, maybe we could do it together. I decided to help him, just to be polite, and I don't even remember how, but I do remember having a blazing fire in all of ten minutes of doing it together. He beamed at me and I smiled timidly. Even though I'd tried hard not to make it obvious, I knew he knew I was scared of him. So he looked at me and brought me into his arms, and he told me to never be afraid of those who loved him. And after that I never was. I broke out of my shell, so to speak."

He barely whispered a breath of something next and I somehow knew even though he hoped I would hear, I wasn't supposed to. After that he removed him arm from around me, and I realized I wished he hadn't. I decided it was okay he had taken his arm from around my shoulders, though, when he took my hand in his. I smiled to myself as we walked through the snow and to the house. Rory somehow opened the door, which was stuck, without letting go of my hand. He was forced to let go though when he had to make a fire to warm us up. Luckily there was already previously prepared dry wood beside the fireplace and it took him no time to make the fire. It was only when he sat back down hat I remembered that I had brought some hot chocolate with me and I decided to make some. When I was done making it I handed one mug to Rory and kept the other for myself.

"Thanks" he replied before taking a small sip.

"No problem" I replied with a smile. We finished our hot chocolate in silence and afterwards he took my hand again and said, "We should probably go we've been gone almost three hours..."

"Oh," I said, realizing that he was right. We had been here a long time. So we collected the pot we'd used for the hot chocolate, and the cups we'd drunken from. I slung the bag I kept everything in over my shoulder and neck before taking Rory's hand again. We walked back through the forest to the fence, only stopping once to return the bow to the log. We'd previously decided to split up at the fence. So just after we both slipped under, he turned to me and before I could say anything he kissed me softly. It was heaven, to say the least. After he pulled away, I smiled breathlessly and we exchanged goodbyes and he left me there touching my lips in wonder.

So, Rory Hawthorne had managed to both break me out of my shell and fall in love with him all in one day, one moment. It was only later that night as I was curled up in bed that I realized I knew what I'd missed Rory saying in the woods. And it made me realize that I was never truly alone as long as I had him. And I'd always have him. No matter what. I fell asleep with his words repeating in my head making me feel breathless and more loved than ever before.

_"And it was only after my father taught me to break out of my shell that I both noticed and fell in love with you."_


End file.
